Barcelona Day 6: Vettel keeps Red Bull on top

Red Bull continued to lead the testing at Barcelona today, as Sebastian Vettel led the rest of the field.

A time of 1.21.865 was the quickest yet of testing this year, and the world champion was half a second ahead of Sebastien Buemi, who completed an impressive 120 laps today, despite causing a red flag and stopping for several pit stop practice sessions.

Vitaly Petrov was another to cause a red flag. Still replacing the ill Nick Heidfeld, a 4-lap run ensured him 3rd place. It was a very difficult day for McLaren, as two exhaust failures and a hydraulic leak delayed Lewis Hamilton, although a single one-lap run got him up to 4th.

A new exhaust system was being tested by Massa in the Ferrari, and his longer run pace suggested he was keeping up well with the Red Bulls. However his short-fuel runs were less impressive, leaving him 5th.

Another red flag was caused by a fuel pressure problem for Paul di Resta, who was 6th, leading Kamui Kobayashi. Bodywork and exhaust changes did not improve Mercedes’ pace, as Nico Rosberg was down in 8th, and 3.9 seconds off the pace.

Jarno Trulli put his Lotus in 9th place. KERS issues severely hampered Williams’ day, limiting Pastor Maldonado to 29 laps all day. He only managed to get out of the garage after disconnecting the KERS unit. Jerome D’Ambrosio was again well off the pace, and headed up the back of the field.